Hyderabad: After high drama, lusty sloganeering, and intense interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sleuths, Satyam Computer Services ex-chairman B Ramalinga Raju was remanded to judicial custody till January 23,2009,along with his brother, Rama Raju, who was the MD of Satyam. In a related development, Vadlamani Srinivas, the embattled company's chief financial officer, was also detained by the police on Saturday night for questioning.

Keen to avoid an ambush by the press, the police unofficially led the media to believe that Raju would be produced before a magistrate in Kundanbagh, before taking him to West Marredpally in Secunderabad, where he was produced before the sixth Chief Metropolitan Magistrates residence at Judges quarters at 5.15pm amidst high security.

Interestingly, out of nowhere, dozens of supporters of the Satyam founder materialised at the magistrates residence and shouted slogans in his support. They also raised slogans against the media, holding it responsible for the arrest of Raju.

The crowd included former Satyam employees, members of the Raju community, and people from coastal Andhra, the region where Raju has his roots. "Raju is not a cheat. He has not defrauded anyone. We don't know why he is being shown as a fraudster," said KK Raju, a supporter.

While the police pressed for custody of the former Satyam chairman, Raju's counsel Bharat Kumar argued against it, stating that his client was suffering from blood pressure-related problems. Assuring the counsel that the jail doctors would provide all necessary medical support, the magistrate remanded the Raju brothers to judicial custody. Both of them were taken to the Chanchalguda prison, the same place where Nagarjuna group chairman KS Raju was lodged till recently. Raju's counsel is likely to move a bail application in the court on Monday. This means, in effect, that the Raju brothers will have to spend one full day in jail.

Before being produced before the magistrate, Raju was interrogated for several hours by CID officials. According to sources in the department, the interrogation went on till 4 am on Saturday, having begun shortly after his arrest at 11 pm on Friday.

Though the officials are tight-lipped on the revelations by Raju, sources said that there was nothing new in his statements and that he was merely repeating what he had said in his five-page resignation letter.

Source : Central